Ramsey: Montpellier a must-win game for Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey warns that the Gunners must win their Champions League clash with Montpellier on Wednesday to feel secure about reaching the knockout stages.

With two games left to play in Group B, the north London outfit are one point behind leaders Schalke and one ahead of third-placed Olympiakos, with the Welshman looking to beat the already-eliminated French side at home in the hopes of taking first spot.

“The group is pretty tight, so I think you can say we have to win that game,” he told the club’s official website. “We are at home, so hopefully we can do that and put ourselves in a strong position to qualify.

“When we played them in France we were under pressure for periods of the game and we did well to get a result.

“They have competed against every team in the group and shown that they can create and can be a threat, so they will be no pushover. They will want to prove something as well. We have to be aware of that and be on top of our game on the day.”

Ramsey is keen for Arsenal to top their group, as such giving them a better chance of avoiding one of the bigger teams in the next round, though qualification is the primary aim.

“Finishing second has been quite costly in the last few years,” he continued. “We finished second in the group a couple of seasons ago and played Barcelona.

“So you know you’re going to have a strong team if you do finish second but, most importantly, we need to qualify and, if we do, we’re confident that we can compete and challenge against any team in the competition. But we must qualify first and then go from there.”